This article explores adaptations of Shakespeareâs Henry V in the years leading up to World War I, and demonstrates how they articulated an unreservedly positive vision of Henry V, turning this play into an imaginative narrative resource offered to British children to arouse patriotism. By emphasizing the kingâs heroism and the unity of the English (British?) people, retellings of Shakespeareâs Henry V provided a powerful inspiration for a national spirit which is represented as a fantasy to be shared with the original Elizabethan audience.